UPSC Prelims 2018 CSAT Paper II · Q55 of 58 Comprehension medium

Passage

The practice of dieting has become an epidemic; everyone is looking out for a way to attain that perfect body. We are all different with respect to our ethnicity, genetics, family history, gender, age, physical and mental and spiritual health status, lifestyles and preferences. Thereby we also differ in what foods we tolerate or are sensitive to. So we really cannot reduce so many complexities into one diet or diet book. This explains the failure of diets across the world in curbing obesity. Unless the reasons for weight gain are well understood and addressed and unless habits are changed permanently, no diet is likely to succeed.

What is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

  1. (a) Obesity has become an epidemic all over the world.
  2. (b) A lot of people are obsessed with attaining a perfect body.
  3. (c) Obesity is essentially an incurable disease.
  4. (d) There is no perfect diet or one solution for obesity. ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• The passage explicitly states that due to individual differences in genetics, ethnicity, and health status, 'we really cannot reduce so many complexities into one diet or diet book.'

• It argues that the failure of diets globally is because they do not address the specific, underlying reasons for weight gain in each individual.

• The text concludes that without understanding individual causes and permanently changing habits, no single diet is likely to succeed.

• Therefore, the logical inference is that there is no universal or 'perfect' diet that works for everyone, supporting option (d).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Obesity has become an epidemic all over the world.
The passage states that the practice of dieting has become an epidemic, not that obesity itself is described as an epidemic in the text.
(b) A lot of people are obsessed with attaining a perfect body.
While the text mentions people looking for a perfect body, this is a premise used to explain the complexity of dieting, not the main logical inference regarding the solution to obesity.
(c) Obesity is essentially an incurable disease.
The passage suggests that diets fail because they are not personalized and habits are not changed, not because obesity is biologically incurable.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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